Explain this quote to me?

Question

Many persons have the wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
Helen Keller (1880 - 1968)
Can someone clearly explain this quote to me please?

Answer 1

i think it means that true happiness comes through hard work, and not doing what is easiest.

Answer 2

The word "pen" might be seen as an allegory for the will of the person or people. Real change only really occurs with the will to do so. You can force a person or nation to change (sword), but in the end, all that is brought about is resentment, and second they get a chance to, people change back. Look at the Polish people. Look at how many times Poland was invaded through the centuries: the Russians, the Germans. And yet they remained Polish. They maintained their ideals. The idea never died. And when the media broadcast the Solidarity movement, everyone rallied for their cause. This is but one example; I doubt this page would be large enough to show you them all. The pen really IS mightier than the sword.

Answer 3

to me,true happiness is living life selflessly.

i think people who donate money to charity are helping a worthy cause but it could be for self-fulfillment of their ego,so i don't think that's a selfless act,if they have selfish motivations.

an example would be being a good samaritan.one does not intentionally go out to find something to do that's considered a good deed.in a hypothetical situation:someone sees a person waving frantically,at the verge of drowning and in dire need of help.nobody else is near because it is a secluded part of the beach.in no way did this someone intend to go to the beach to keep a look out for people swimming in the water but they just went there on their leisure time to enjoy the day.so this someone runs towards the water and swims to save the person.although there is a possibility of rip currents and other dangers that sometimes even puts a strong swimmer in danger,this someone later known as a good samaritan,doesn't think twice of the dangers and is willing to sacrafice their life to help a stranger.i think it's the random things such as that situation,is what's truly selfless and considered as a "worthy purpose." happiness derived from helping someone without ulterior motives,such as ego related purposes,is what i think helen keller meant by her quote.

Answer 4

It is important to put her quote in context to understand why she may have said it.

Helen Keller was a woman who became deaf and blind at about two years old after an illness, so (like a lot of people have already said) it means deeper happiness is not about the acquisition of material things, as there will always be someone richer, more beautiful that you but rather its achieved through dedication to a worthy cause which could be in Helen Keller's case her life long commitment to, socialism, preventing blindness etc...

So she is saying that she is happy even though she is denied the ability to hear and see and that her happiness is deeper because it is not based on the acquisition of physical things or physical gratification.

Answer 5

Well, the quote itself seems straight foward.

It means that, many people think that by making themselves happy (i.e. saying, i'm smart, and i'm beautiful no matter what anyone else thinks/ or by buying the shirt you've always wanted) they are truly happy. BUT in realitiy, that happieness isn't true happieness.

The quote says that true happieness comes when you do something worthy. Like, join the red cross and help people, or doing something that makes someone else happy as well (ie. helping an old person cross the street, or donating money, or volenteering, etc...)


I LOVE disecting quotes. and i personally believe this quote to be true.

Answer 6

Keller should have written:

"Many people have their own ideas of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to some purpose they believe to be worthy."

Who did Keller think she was - passing judgment on what is a wrong or right idea? She had her opinion. Besides, true happiness means different things for different people. Keller was attaining self-gratification. How? She was helping others. This is how Keller had fun. Bill Gates has fun making lots of money. Pete Sampras has fun playing tennis. Mother Theresa had fun helping the poor and oppressed. You had better believe it! No one does anything that does not contain some form of self-gratifying reward, be it self-satisfaction, praise, recognition, money, power, etc. As for remaining faithful to their worthy causes/purposes, all people do this as long as they are able or until they lose interest.

So my dear friend, to summarize:

There is no right or wrong idea. Happiness is actually attained through self-gratification which is by default a worthy cause.

Answer 7

Helen Keller Happiness

Answer 8

True happiness is not momentary, it is infact eternal. And it comes when we fully commit our lives to a cause that is worthy of our lives.

Most are busy seeking momentary pleasures all our lives, but fail to fulfill us in the end, as they don’t inspire us or enrich our soul and that is we feel so empty even despite leading such ‘busy’ life, we want to get lost in business of life so that we wont have to look at our own emptiness.

True joy comes when we do something that can keep us feeling alive, fully inspired and fulfilled, all day long.

People who walk the path of their soul, or follow their callings in life no matter how hard they might be walk the path to eternal joy as they already that living their highest dream.
No wonder they don’t NEED anything external, to give them any more of what they always have from their soul.

It is the joy a person feels when he starts following his or her heart, his soul purpose, here on earth. And that is what Helen Keller did so wonderfully, and no wonder her life still continues to inspire us, even today!

Answer 9

This Quote says : Many people think that laughing or being happy for a short period for something silly or worthless is true happiness, but true happiness comes to you when you get something or do something which has a greater meaning in your life.

Answer 10

Getting "more stuff" won't make you happy, doing something worthwhile and sticking to it will. Like helping the environment or volunteering to do something that will help some one else.

Answer 11

Unless you have a noble purpose to motivate you your life is pretty empty. How much consuming can you do? You'll always want more and still be unsatisfied. Have a noble purpose and your life has true meaning=happiness.